Customer Operations - Customer Operations Specialist

About the role

The Customer Operations Specialist is a technically focused, customer-facing role that combines engineering knowledge, problem-solving expertise, and operational coordination to deliver exceptional customer support. Acting as a trusted liaison between customers and internal teams, this individual leverages a strong understanding of the site's products, manufacturing processes, and technical capabilities to develop solutions that meet customer requirements. The role involves close collaboration with Operations, Planning, Engineering, Quality, Customer Success, and Sales to advocate for the customer while balancing business and operational objectives.

This position drives timely issue resolution, provides technical and commercial support, manages standard and repeat quotations, and oversees order management activities for factory-direct customers. Success in this role requires strong technical aptitude, attention to detail, effective communication skills, and the ability to translate customer needs into actionable solutions delivered with speed, accuracy, and professionalism.

Responsibilities

• Adhere to all safety, environmental, security, and quality requirements, including QMS, FDA regulations, company policies, and other regulatory standards.
• Champion the voice of the customer within the site and instill customer advocacy during interactions with peers and facility personnel.
• Partner with Customers, Sales, and Customer Service organizations to meet customer requirements and grow sales.
• Develop and foster customer relationships by working directly with Factory Direct customers and partnering with Sales and Customer Service for Strategic and Multi-Site customers.
• Communicate with customers and internal teams (Sales, Customer Service) to fully understand customer requirements and ensure contractual obligations are met.
• Provide input for Quarterly Business Reviews and participate as required.
• Contribute to the annual and monthly forecasting process, including reconciliation to the monthly facility forecast.
• Execute contract review for the order entry process at the site level and support intercompany quoting and order entry processes.
• Work with Site Planning and Operations to establish and communicate standard product lead times.
• Collaborate with facility personnel (Planning, Operations, and Purchasing) to meet customer requests, such as order expedites and change requests.
• Communicate and monitor plans for expedite requests and recovery plans to Sales, CSRs, Customers, and Operations to meet commitments.
• Execute the quotation process for Repeat and Standard Products and support the Technical Solutions group for New Product quotations.
• Work with the Customer Operations team to achieve sales and key metric performance goals, including Order Acknowledgement Cycle Time and Quote Cycle Time.
• Identify process improvement opportunities to better serve customers and support lean manufacturing cultural change to drive out waste.
• Serve as the customer point of contact for site-level issue resolution.
• Prepare and arrange customer visits, business reviews, and audits at manufacturing sites.
• Coordinate finished good item configuration to ensure revision, price, and specifications are accurate.
• Perform other duties as required.

Requirements

• Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in engineering or business.
• Minimum Experience: 5+ years of experience in manufacturing or the medical device field.

Skills

• Customer-focused with sales and service acumen.
• Demonstrated experience in an engineering discipline, with the ability to apply technical knowledge to solve customer and operational challenges.
• Experience reading and understanding design drawings and specifications preferred.
• Ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organization, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to work independently as well as collaborate effectively in a team environment.
• Highly organized and adaptable to meet business deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills with the ability to identify root causes and implement effective solutions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and other business software applications.
• ERP Experience: Oracle or JD Edwards is a plus.

Successful completion of general RCRA Awareness training is required upon onboarding, with annual refreshers. Additional training may be required if handling larger quantities of chemical waste (above 20 gallons) or changing positions.